Gagen Blog

One of the most significant challenges that executives across all industries face for their brands, reputations, and operations today is the rising tide of employee activism. Last week, in the first of a series of three posts, I reviewed some of the key forces driving rising employee activism today, and invited others to share their…

Due to the many competing pressures businesses face today, culture ranks as a top concern for CEOs and other executives, and is increasingly seen as the pendulum on which results swing. Given how extraordinarily complex cultures are, how does an organization refine and evolve a culture to unleash potential and turn strategies into success? We…

A decade ago, if you asked a group of executives of large companies to list the greatest risks to their business, you would have heard words like regulatory action, product recall, ethical lapse, or missed financial target. If you got those same executives together today, I’m nearly certain a new term would enter the conversation:…

Due to the many competing pressures businesses face today, culture ranks as a top concern for CEOs and other executives, and is increasingly seen as the pendulum on which results swing. Given how extraordinarily complex cultures are, how does an organization refine and evolve a culture to unleash potential and turn strategies into success? We…

Due to the many competing pressures businesses face today, culture ranks as a top concern for CEOs and other executives, and is increasingly seen as the pendulum on which results swing. Given how extraordinarily complex cultures are, how does an organization refine and evolve a culture to unleash potential and turn strategies into success? We…

Due to the many competing pressures businesses face today, culture ranks as a top concern for CEOs and other executives, and is increasingly seen as the pendulum on which results swing. Given how extraordinarily complex cultures are, how does an organization refine and evolve a culture to unleash potential and turn strategies into success? We…

Stories are powerful. Many of us have a favorite story; one that engages our emotions and intellect through expert timing and language, and leaves us simultaneously fulfilled and wanting more. Neuroscience tells us that people respond to a narrative more than other communication types. Paul Zak, founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies and…

Behavior change doesn’t seem that complicated. People are naturally willing to transform to make their own lives better, right? Wrong. Humans are creatures of habit and each person has their own way of doing things. In a workplace setting, minor individual actions can influence others to behave similarly; thus, each minor action by an individual…

Over my 25+ years of enabling enterprises to effectively transform, some of the most successful change initiatives I’ve witnessed are led by executives with agile mindsets and behaviors. How executives think, feel and act is paramount. That’s why it’s a concern that a lack of confidence is a top reason why executives are unprepared to…

This speech was given on September 16, 2019 by Maril Gagen MacDonald as she was inducted into the 2019 Arthur W. Page Hall of Fame in Boston, Massachusetts.  Good evening. Thanks, for that great introduction, Aedhmar!  And Bob – congratulations on your Distinguished Service Award.  It’s a little daunting to follow the two of you…